Who

Halo 2: Day One

Apparently, I’m not that good at
it. And not
just the online version, either. I started the single-player campaign of
“Heroic,” which is one notch above normal, and am now ruing it. I’m
considering restarting on “normal,” or perhaps even looking to see if there is
some easier setting, perhaps named “creampuff Casper Milquetoast”.

But it sure is pretty.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I like Halo, a lot. It’s pretty much a rock solid
implementation of “the 3d multiplayer deathmatch shooter.” It’s Quake 3 with a
pace that isn’t stupidly painful, and with much, much better designed maps.
But but but: I like the pace of Counterstrike better. I like that if you die
in Counterstrike, you have to sit out for a good long time. It lends an air
of gravity to the proceedings: actions have consequences. Whereas the
3-2-1-respawn we find in Halo and its ilk leads to a completely different
style of gameplay.

I’m not whining that Halo has the gameplay that it has; I’m wondering why
Counterstrike seems to be the only shooter that adopts the opposite
position. Counterstrike is the most popular game of its genre. Wouldn’t you
think that someone else would at least try to imitate it?